'I stabbed black man as practice' suspect tells police

Published: 2017 March 24 08:15:48 (4490 Views)

A white man accused of fatally stabbing a black man in New York on Monday night told police he targeted the victim because he was black and that he viewed the killing as "practice," according to a criminal complaint.

The suspect, 28-year-old James Harris Jackson, told police he intended to go to Times Square to kill more black men, according to the complaint.

Jackson was arraigned on second-degree murder and weapons charges in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, a day after he turned himself in to police.

Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said in court that the charge may be upped to first-degree murder because it was likely an act of terrorism, according to a spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office.

"The attack was clearly racially motivated," NYPD Assistant Chief Bill Aubry said on Wednesday. "It's well over 10 years he has been harbouring these feelings of hate towards male blacks."

A witness said Jackson was on top of Caughman, who asked what he was doing, according to the complaint. Surveillance video showed Jackson fleeing the scene, and he turned himself in after he saw photos of himself on the news, police said.

Jackson told police he stalked numerous potential victims and that he was angered by black men mixing with white women, according to the complaint.